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1999 2.0L Battery Light

S

smittygj

New CEG'er
Joined
Apr 9, 2008
Messages
8
3 weekends ago, battery light came on, and within hours
car would not start. Charged battery good enough to run
it down to autozone and they said bad alternator. Replaced
alternator.

5 days later, car would not start. Took battery in to autozone
to be tested, tested bad. Replace with brand new battery.

5 days later, battery light is back on again. Removed alternator
and took it in to autozone. Tested bad. Got another one, and
had them bench test it before I left the store. Tested good.

3 days later, battery light is on occasionally, but all indications
are that everything is good. Autozone checked it again and
said everything is good, and said maybe to check wiring???

I've cleaned all of the wires and connectors at the battery,
and confirmed everything is good and tight with the wiring
at the alternator, but now battery light stays on constantly.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Smittygj
 
check megafuse, check fuse associated with charging system in engine compartment power distribution box.

Or you could have gotten two bad alternators, its really not that uncommon, and if your alternator is providing TOO much power it will throw a battery light, have you run a voltmeter over the battery terminals with and without the motor running.

Running you should get about 13-14 volts. Not running you should be at around 12.
 
AliasJerk said:
check megafuse, check fuse associated with charging system in engine compartment power distribution box.

Or you could have gotten two bad alternators, its really not that uncommon, and if your alternator is providing TOO much power it will throw a battery light, have you run a voltmeter over the battery terminals with and without the motor running.

Running you should get about 13-14 volts. Not running you should be at around 12.
Click to expand...

All regular fuses are good. Found the mega fuse. How do I test it?
 
It's rare for the megafuse to blow, do a volt test on the charging system like I said in my last post.
 
AliasJerk said:
It's rare for the megafuse to blow, do a volt test on the charging system like I said in my last post.
Click to expand...

OK, found the multimeter, and checked it. It reads 12.6 running or
not running, so it must be the alternator again. I checked it right
after I installed the last one and it was reading 12.6 not running
and 14.2 when running....

This would be the 3rd alternator in as many weeks....:mad:
 
smittygj said:
OK, found the multimeter, and checked it. It reads 12.6 running or
not running, so it must be the alternator again. I checked it right
after I installed the last one and it was reading 12.6 not running
and 14.2 when running....

This would be the 3rd alternator in as many weeks....:mad:
Click to expand...

Is there anything in particular that would cause a rebuilt alt to be bad
so many times so quick or is it just my bad luck. They came from
autozone...:shrug:
 
Update

Update

OK, so today took alternator off and took it back to autozone to have it tested. Had them test it twice. Checked good both times???

I'm gonna put everything back together and see what happens....
 
Put everything back together, and now battery light is off
and it is reading 14.2v when running. I dunno what it was,
but it's gone now. Maybe something in the wiring. Gonna
run it a few days and see what happens...
 
return alternator, autozone doesn't really have good auto parts. go to napa. their parts maybe 20 bucks more, but its worth the hassle of returning one alternator every week.
 
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